Most people know Harry Reid as the quiet Democrat in charge of the Senate. Some consider him boring, but they couldn’t be more wrong.The Harry Reid story is a long one. He’s had a remarkable career on his way from miner’s son to Senate Majority Leader.

A man named Jack Gordon, who later married LaToya Jackson, tried to give Reid a $12,000 bribe. Reid let the FBI videotape Gordon offering him the bribe, and then, according to a Las Vegas Review-Journal account, he “put his hands around Gordon’s neck and said, ‘You son of a bitch, you tried to bribe me.’

“In “Casino,” Dick Smother’s character “Senator” is loosely based on Reid. Several of the key scenes involving the state cracking down on mob influence in Nevada gaming are based on actual events from Reid’s tenure. “

Reid survived several death threats and an attempted car bombing by the Mob.

In the Senate:

Reid’s Senate career has a number of highlights: He once filibustered for nine hours by himself, reading from the history book he wrote about his hometown, Searchlight.

Reid criticized Republican nominee Mitt Romney over the Republican nominee’s unwillingness to release his tax returns by claiming that he had heard from a “credible source” that Romney had failed to pay any federal income taxes for several years. Later in the campaign, Reid claimed that Romney “sullied” Mormonism by “hiding from” the religion.